


Falling

by dojaefairy



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Falling In Love, Flirting, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, Getting Together, Humor, M/M, Making Out, Rivalry, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-28
Updated: 2019-08-28
Packaged: 2020-09-28 19:16:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,920
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20431091
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dojaefairy/pseuds/dojaefairy
Summary: Jaehyun and Doyoung are good friends, but when it comes to their sports club, they're in constant competition for the ace title. What everyone sees as sexual tension, they merely brush off as passionate rivalry, until a certain event brings them closer and feelings bloom.





	Falling

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Angel_Kyra](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Angel_Kyra/gifts).

> Hi, this is my first NCT fic! I'm pretty happy with what I did, and I hope to write more on this fandom in the times to come. This is a gift for my friend Noélia ♡ love you!! I hope you'll have fun reading this piece ♡

“Nice practice today again!” Kun’s voice resonates in the gym before he blows his whistle, twice.

Jaehyun almost misses his two-points shot, but the ball goes in anyway. He smiles seeing the ball bounce on the hard floor, and picks it up. Besides him, Lucas is running left and right to gather all the balls they didn’t bother to put back into the cart while practicing free throws. Jungwoo is getting mops from the corner of the locker room where they store the cleaning material, and Haechan and Jisung are helping him.

Kun sits down on a bench to quickly take some notes regarding the practice that just happened, and Johnny is sitting by his side to point out the things he might have forgotten. Yangyang and Xiaojun are already showering and getting ready to leave, as they both have an exam to study for.

Everything is going as usual, except that Doyoung is no where to be seen.

Jaehyun is the first one to notice it, and he quirks an eyebrow at the unexplained absence of his friend. He’s usually either picking up the balls with Lucas and him, or with Kun, so him having suddenly disappeared makes no sense. Jaehyun looks around, and his frown intensifies. Weird. He’s about to move because Jisung wants to mop the very area where he is standing, when he hears a loud “WOW”.

Everyone recognizes Ten’s voice, and turns towards the source of the voice. Ten is indeed standing in the entrance of the gym, and he’s got one hand covering his mouth. He looks like he’s exaggerating his shocked attitude, which is a very Ten-like behavior, but now Jaehyun is curious about what he saw that made him react like this.

He gets an answer to his question right away, as a flustered Doyoung comes in the gym. Jaehyun understands that he must have left briefly as Kun had called the end of their practice, but he can’t help but wonder why. Once again, he doesn’t have to think about it for too long, because Ten speaks up again.

“What did I just see!?”

“What is it, what is it?” Lucas asks.

“Oh my _God_, guys,” Ten says, overly dramatic for no reason, “this girl just asked out our Doyoung!”

“Could you maybe not scream about it?” Kun suggests, pinching the bridge of his nose, “what if she’s still around?”

Ten shrugs, and rolls his eyes.

“Doyoung said no anyway, as expected. I mean, it’s not like he was gonna be a two-timing hoe and cheat on Jaehyun, right?”

Johnny can’t help but burst in laughter at Ten’s bluntness, and he’s soon imitated by almost everyone. Jaehyun is not laughing because he’s blushing, and he may be redder than Doyoung, who’s not doing any better.

The embarrassment is doubled on Doyoung’s side, because he just got confessed to right after practice, meaning he was still red and sweaty, then the confession made him embarrassed because as Ten so kindly shouted to the world, he rejected that girl, and cherry on top, now everyone is laughing at the good ol’ “Jaehyun and Doyoung are dating” joke. He doesn’t see how anyone could think him and Jaehyun are boyfriends, because they’re not and will not be, ever. He’d rather cook and eat a basketball than date Jaehyun.

Jaehyun coughs, and glares at everyone. It’s no use, because Lucas is still wheezing, using Jungwoo’s shoulder as support, and Johnny laughed so much he actually choked on air. Ten looks very satisfied with his joke, and he suddenly claps his hands.

“Anyway, gays- I mean, guys, who’s up for a party at mine tonight?”

There are echoes of interested “oh” and “ah”, and Ten is suddenly swarmed by the guys asking him details about who’s coming and whether or not there will be free food and booze. Jaehyun shakes his head, and pushes the cart full of balls into the storage room of the gym. He turns on his heels to head for the showers, and almost runs into Doyoung of all people. They both halt before a collision can happen, and they share an embarrassed look.

They’ve unfortunately gotten used to their friends’ teasing remarks of how they should date, but the embarrassment never goes away quickly. Outside the court, they’re really close friends, and when it comes to basketball, they’re stuck in that rivalry where both are fighting for the title of ace of the team. Currently, it’s Jaehyun who has it, but up until last month, it was Doyoung. Ten calls it sexual tension, but Doyoung thinks it’s just friendly rivalry over their favorite sport. There exists no sexual tension whatsoever between them. Ten sees sexual tension everywhere anyway.

Jaehyun acts first, and he enters the locker room. He quickly gets his towel, and locks himself in a shower stall. He takes his sweet time washing the sweat off his skin and hair, and even indulges himself into staying under the lukewarm water for a few seconds after he’s done rinsing himself. The water feels good on his aching muscles, and he knows it’ll be easier to stretch after his shower.

In the stall next to his, Doyoung is doing the same thing, except that he’s trying really hard to free his mind of Ten’s teasing remarks, the unexpected confession from that girl he had never seen, and how everyone laughed at him and Jaehyun, once again. Why does no one ever mind their own business among his friends?

Both their showers come to an end, and they exit their respective stalls at the same time. Thankfully, Ten isn’t here, because he’d definitely be exclaiming about the sudden silence between them as they not so subtly look at each other while being half naked.

In Jaehyun’s defense, he’s just looking at Doyoung because he’s here, and because he’s half naked. It’s not surprising considering he just showered, but Jaehyun’s eyes have a mind of their own and he so happens to be staring at Doyoung’s chest. It’s not _intentional_.

Doyoung has no arguments, he’s still kind of sulking about what happened and his eyes got lost and ended on Jaehyun’s abs. It’s definitely not intentional on his side either.

“Are y’all done eye-fucking,” Ten’s voice suddenly resonates in the locker room, and both Doyoung and Jaehyun jump in surprise.

Ten smirks at them, but is pulled aside by Johnny because “you don’t even belong to this club, why are you in our locker room”. Kun adds something that neither Jaehyun or Doyoung hear because they’re busy getting dressed again quickly before anyone else comments on them.

The members of the club take time showering, but Ten, seeing that Doyoung and Jaehyun are already done and good to leave, take their hands in his.

“Guys, we’re leaving ahead of you, meet us later!” Ten says, loudly, and a chorus of “see you later!” can be heard.

Jaehyun and Doyoung have no time to protest that Ten takes them outside of the gym, but they both shake their hands off his grip. Ten pouts and makes sad eyes at them, but seeing their judgmental, unimpressed gaze, he shrugs.

“You’re both coming to my party, right? I don’t accept excuses unless you’re sick or have an exam to study for.”

Jaehyun and Doyoung share a look, and that strange thing where it seems that they can read each other’s mind happens: they have no excuses. Jaehyun shrugs, and keeps walking by Ten’s side. He doesn’t mind going to the party, to be perfectly honest. He likes partying just as much as his friends, and free food and alcohol is always a yes. Doyoung shakes his head and sighs. He doesn’t like that this is last-minute, but almost all of his friends always plan things that way. It drives him mad, but he eventually always gets roped into going to this or this party. He’s okay with it, because he ends up having fun, but still.

The walk to Ten’s house, which he shares with his numerous roommates, is no longer than fifteen minutes total, and it’s strangely nice. Ten is a very teasing person, especially ever since he somehow got the idea that Jaehyun and Doyoung were soulmates meant for each other. But sometimes, he does calm down, and then, good conversations can happen. Jaehyun actually loves teasing Doyoung and Ten about them being older than he is, which often results in the duo uniting against his cheeky self.

“The nerve!” Ten exclaims while Doyoung gives him a disapproving look.

Jaehyun always laughs it off, not worried in the slightest bit. He’s bulkier than Ten, and Doyoung sucks at fighting. Plus, they both adore him, and he loves them back just as much.

They arrive at Ten’s house, and there’s already music loud enough that you can hear it from outside. It’s past 7:30pm, and while Ten immediately disappears God knows where to greet people and such, Doyoung and Jaehyun stick together. Jaehyun offers that they locate the food and raid the table, and Doyoung agrees eagerly. They’re both starving after practice, after all. They pile up snacks and real food on plates and bowls, before settling on an unoccupied couch. Jaehyun makes a run for the table where all the drinks are, and comes back with water, but also alcohol. They make small talk while eating, and have fun just the two of them.

Once they’re done filling up their stomachs, Jaehyun finds desserts and sweets, and Doyoung accepts everything his friends hands him despite already being so full. But Jaehyun looks really cute handing him candies, because his eyes sparkle and he smiles prettily, so Doyoung can’t refuse.

They eventually meet up with the rest of the basketball club who arrived while they were eating, and also had food. Now, everyone is drinking rather than eating, and the music volumes goes up higher than before.

Jaehyun and Doyoung lost each other while dancing, but they’re soon brought together again, not by fate, but by Ten. It’s important to point out that Ten is tipsy, which means he must have had quite a number of drinks, because his alcohol tolerance is quite high. Ten suggests that they played truth or dare, which is ridiculous because they’re in college and not thirteen anymore, but it’s surprisingly easy to convince their drunk friends.

The alcohol makes it easier to laugh at all the dumb stuff that are being said or done. Doyoung and Jaehyun sat across from each other, which may or may not have been a good idea. So far, nothing happened between them, which is good. Everyone playing is soon relaxing and having fun, and the dares suddenly become something else; it starts with Jungwoo being dared to give Lucas a lap dance, courtesy of Yuta.

They all scream and look at the couple, and while Lucas is surprisingly blushing, Jungwoo looks like he’s about to do the job of his life. Ten is howling, hitting Yuta’s shoulder repeatedly as he’s dying in laughter, and Yuta pecks his lips real quick before the dare starts. Ten actually goes for a deeper kiss, which goes unnoticed by everyone else who’s focused on Lucas and Jungwoo.

Jungwoo settles on Lucas’ lap, and as Lucas starts hiding his face behind his hands, Jaehyun elbows him, shaking his head. Jungwoo does an amazing job, and Doyoung is genuinely worried for Lucas’ well-being because he’s so red after having been given a lap dance in front of a whole group of people. There’s actually not even ten of them, but it’s still embarrassing.

Jungwoo finishes his dare by kissing Lucas fully on the mouth as everyone in the circle cheers, and he doesn’t bother going back to his spot: rather, he just sits between Lucas’ legs. Lucas pulls him into a timid back-hug, and Jungwoo is soon spinning the bottle to know who’s going to be the next victim. There’s a few more rounds, and at some point, Ten is dared to tell something sexy to his boyfriend, but in Japanese.

Yuta is looking all expectant at Ten, who thinks hard before speaking up. No one apart from Yuta speaks Japanese here, so they’re all realizing this dare didn’t make much sense, until suddenly, Yuta’s cheeks get cherry red.

“What did he say?” Jaehyun asks, nosy.

Yuta sends a scandalized look at Ten, who’s smirking, and he hides his face in his hands.

“C’moooon,” Doyoung whines.

“Tell them,” Yuta tells Ten, who shakes his head.

“You tell them babe.”

Yuta clears his throat, and Ten laughs loudly as Yuta speaks up.

“He spoke about, uh, male private parts, and, ahem, how he likes soft and sticky things in his mouth.”

Everyone gasps, contrary to Ten who’s still laughing his heart out. Yuta shakes his head, but eventually smiles softly at Ten’s joyous expression. They share another sweet kiss, and Ten spins the bottle.

It lands perfectly between Jaehyun and Doyoung, and they both fear the worst. Their friends around are looking at them with knowing expressions, and Jaehyun gulps down. Doyoung doesn’t feel well either: whether they chose truth or dare, it will be terrible.

“Jaehyun,” Ten calls out, and Doyoung looks at Jaehyun with pleading eyes.

They make a short eye contact, and Jaehyun focuses on Ten again.

“Dare,” Jaehyun answers, not letting him ask the question.

“Kiss Doyoung,” Ten enunciates slowly, and Jaehyun ponders if murder is a third, eligible option. Yuta can always find another boyfriend, and Jaehyun can just move abroad. He looks at Doyoung, and sees him freak out. Jaehyun tries to convey a “I’m sorry but that’s the game” with his eyes, and he gets closer to Doyoung. Doyoung shakes his head.

“Hey, I didn’t agree to this!”

His protest is only met with laughter, and he can’t even find support in Jaehyun, who merely shrugs. Doyoung is about to try escaping, but Jaehyun kneels before him and cups his cheeks. Doyoung freezes. Jaehyun turns to Ten, trying to play it cool.

“What kind of kiss?”

Ten smirks like the devil he is.

“A real one, with tongue and all, and at least thirty seconds.”

It’s so specific that if Jaehyun wasn’t the one doing the dare, he’d find it hilarious. Jaehyun shrugs once more, and he turns to Doyoung, who’s still looking at him with his eyes wide open.

“C’mon, open up your mouth,” Jaehyun whispers, and Doyoung can only gasp as Jaehyun’s tongue is suddenly in his mouth, around his. Doyoung forces his eyes shut as Jaehyun also closed his, and strangely enough, his mind comes to focus on the sensation of Jaehyun kissing him with his tongue as if that was something they did every single day. He can’t let Jaehyun do all the work, so he also answers the kiss. At this point, nothing really matters. Jaehyun pauses as he feels Doyoung kissing him back, but it only motivates him more.

Jaehyun tilts his head, and one of his hands carefully holds Doyoung’s face while the other goes in his hair, pretty much caressing it. Doyoung is holding Jaehyun’s shirt with all he has, and they’re both getting lost into each other. The kiss keeps going, and Jaehyun wonders how truly long thirty seconds can be, because it feels like he’s explored every single part of Doyoung’s mouth with his tongue. He hopes he doesn’t reek too much of alcohol.

Doyoung is getting tired, because regardless of how gently Jaehyun is cradling his face and kissing him, he still wants to breathe again. They finally part, and there are so many cheers they’re both temporarily deaf. They’re both panting and wiping their chins, because they shared way too much saliva. Jaehyun sits back to his previous spot, and Ten claps.

“Wow guys, I knew you had it in you! I only asked for thirty seconds, but you almost lasted two minutes!”

Doyoung buries his face in his hands at that, while Jaehyun fans himself. Now, more than ever, it’ll be complicated to convince everyone that they’re not dating or about to date when they literally spent two minutes eating each other’s faces in public.

There’s a common decision to stop the game after that. Jaehyun and Doyoung’s kiss as well as Jungwoo’s lap dance for Lucas are crowned best performances of the night. While Jungwoo is cheering, pressing kisses to Lucas’ pink cheeks, Jaehyun and Doyoung are still red in the face and very much embarrassed, to a point they can’t look at each other. While staying with each other makes them all nervous, the thought of pretending nothing happened and finding other people to dance with – or even _flirt_ with – is not conceivable on either side.

They find themselves on the same couch on which they ate earlier, with alcohol filled cups, and Doyoung finally clears his throat.

“It was, ahem, just for the game, right?”

“Yeah,” Jaehyun answers, but something doesn’t feel right.

They both drink from their cups, and share a look, and the mind reading thingie happens once more: despite wanting to hide it, agreeing that it was just for the game feels like a lie.

* * *

“I think I like Doyoung,” Jaehyun moans, and Kun sends him an unimpressed look.

“Of course you like Doyoung,” he answers, curtly, “he’s your boyfriend.”

At “boyfriend”, he rolls his eyes, and focuses on the menu again, obviously annoyed by Jaehyun’s attitude. Next to him, Taeil forces a smile, and he intertwines his fingers with Kun.

“Babe, I think you should be a little more considerate of Jaehyun’s feelings.”

Jaehyun fakes a sob at the elder’s words, and he nods while trying to force tears to run down on his cheeks.

Kun is usually someone who’s caring and a good listener, but Ten has brain washed him too into believing that Jaehyun and Doyoung are somehow married. They’re far from that, Jaehyun literally just admitted to himself that he may have feelings for his friend. While Jaehyun keeps self-wallowing, Kun looks at Taeil, who smiles at him gently. Kun obviously melts seeing his boyfriend’s sunny smile, and sighs before nodding. Taeil presses a kiss to his temple, and calls for the waiter so that they can order food.

Fortunately, there aren’t that many people in the restaurant, and the waiter arrives quickly. They all order food, and Kun focuses on Jaehyun again, against his will. Jaehyun sends a thankful look to Taeil, who merely smiles brightly, but his expression becomes gloomy when he sees Kun’s judgmental stare.

“What?” Jaehyun asks.

If he’s going to be judged, he’d like to at least have one good reason for it.

“Let’s take it from the beginning,” Kun says, “explain how you and Doyoung are not a thing yet.”

“Babe,” Taeil soothes him, and Kun apologizes to his boyfriend for being too stern.

Jaehyun pouts, but answers.

“Ten’s the only one who started saying that we were together and he somehow convinced all of you that we were,” he begins, “but we’re really not? I mean, don’t get me wrong, I have eyes, I think Doyoung is extremely good looking, and on top of that, he’s funny and caring, but he’s my friend.”

“I mean,” Kun says, quirking an eyebrow, “we all start like this. The person you like is “just my friend” or “like a brother to me” but then you start thinking it’d be nice to kiss them and you’re fucked.”

“Are you speaking from experience?” Taeil teases him, and Jaehyun feels like he’s winning seeing how Kun blushes.

Kun coughs, and Taeil circles his shoulders, bringing him closer. Jaehyun can’t help but think they look adorable.

“Anyhow,” Kun clears his throat, obviously curling up against Taeil, “did you never think about Doyoung that way? Even before Ten started?”

Jaehyun thinks harder about it.

“I think I’ve had that kind of thoughts about Doyoung ever since I met him, but then we became really good friends and it kinda slipped my mind? Or rather, it’s always here, but it’s so integrated in my perception of Doyoung that it doesn’t occur to me that it’s not just friendly. Plus, everyone keeps telling us we’re a good match, so my own thoughts get mixed up with the rumors and I don’t know anymore how I feel.”

Kun is about to say something when Jaehyun adds “But it all changed at Ten’s party when I had to kiss him and it just felt right? As if he was my boyfriend and we had been doing this for years, although it was our first time kissing? Then we talked and we were like “oh, kissing was just for the game, it doesn’t actually mean anything” but I could tell he was as troubled as I am.”

Kun and Taeil share a look.

“What are you planning on doing?” Taeil asks, biting his lower lip.

“I think I’ll give myself more time so as to see whether I really like him in a boyfriend way, but if my feelings get confirmed, I’d like to give dating him a try.”

Kun nods, and Taeil smiles.

“That sounds good,” Taeil says.

“I wish you the best,” Kun adds, and Jaehyun beams at the two of them.

* * *

The next time he sees Doyoung, Jaehyun is on a mission. Doyoung doesn’t have to know yet that Jaehyun is trying to make sure whether he likes him or not, but he’ll have to suffer through it nevertheless. Actually, the thought of flirting with Doyoung without telling him why amuses Jaehyun a lot because he knows Doyoung rarely flirts, and seldom gets flirted with. When that happens, he always becomes all embarrassed and red in the face, which Jaehyun thinks is high key cute.

He starts by small acts, holding Doyoung’s hand a little longer than necessary when playing with his hands, or resting his head on his shoulder as they’re hanging out with their friends. It’s subtle enough that Doyoung doesn’t really react to it, but Jaehyun is secretly enjoying himself. Doyoung is comfortable, although his body temperature tends to get colder more easily than Jaehyun, but he’s really nice to touch.

Jaehyun takes advantage of the few more centimeters he has on Doyoung to sometimes pull him into impromptu back hugs, which leaves the elder flustered. When Doyoung turns his head – but not too much because otherwise they’ll kiss – and asks Jaehyun why he’s hugging him this time, Jaehyun merely shrugs.

“I just wanted to,” has become his favorite answer, and he loves the way Doyoung ducks his head, embarrassed.

He never shoves him away or tells him to stop, though, so Jaehyun keeps going.

* * *

It escalates to him buying Doyoung’s favorite snacks, because the elder has this bad tendency of craving snacks whenever. The first time Jaehyun grabs Doyoung’s favorite chips from his bag, Doyoung first beams at him, but as he opens the bag under Jaehyun’s fond gaze, he realizes that something is off.

“How come you had this in your bag?”

“You always complain about wanting snacks,” Jaehyun shrugs, “so I thought it was high time someone started carrying your favorites ones around.”

Doyoung stares at Jaehyun, a little amazed, and he blushes as he takes one chips. Jaehyun fights the smirk off his face, and merely indulges in the cute view of Doyoung snacking, looking like a cute bunny while doing so. He even accepts getting hand-fed some chips by Doyoung, smiling as his friend does it.

* * *

From time to time, in the locker room, Jaehyun’s eyes move on their own, and he finds himself staring at Doyoung. Doyoung is always focused on changing, so he never notices Jaehyun’s stare. Jaehyun licks his lips at the sight of Doyoung’s very attractive chest and hips, and his eyes always graze Doyoung’s toned legs with appreciation. Once again, it’s not like he suddenly discovered that Doyoung is ridiculously attractive, but it just kinda hits him differently.

“Jaehyun, stop day dreaming and get changed,” Kun nudges him with his elbow, and Jaehyun realizes that indeed, he’s the only one who didn’t get changed yet.

“Yup, sorry”, he says before taking off his tee-shirt.

He misses Doyoung briefly looking at him before exiting the locker room.

* * *

Practice is the same as always, and Jaehyun’s still the ace for now. It’s been almost two months by now, and he can tell Doyoung is getting eager to take back the title. Not that he’d let him do so, Jaehyun smirks. He might like Doyoung, but giving up on the ace title is a big no no. Unless the other dethrones him fair and square like it happens every few months, he’s keeping it.

Practice comes to an end, and Kun keeps all of them around to discuss the line up for the upcoming friendly match with their neighbor university. Jaehyun smiles brightly as he’s appointed ace of the team, and he bows exaggeratedly when Kun calls out his name. Jisung and Haechan snicker, while Doyoung fakes pouting.

Kun explains a few more things, and they’re all good to go. Jaehyun lets the others shower first, because he’s not really in a hurry today. Doyoung, seeing that, also tells the younger members to go ahead. Jaehyun smiles at Doyoung, and they chat while waiting for the showers.

An idea strikes Jaehyun as he’s showering, and while it may be a little too much, he’s been flirting with subtlety for long enough: it’s time for more. He listens attentively as Doyoung showers, and exits the stall at the same time as him. Doyoung, seeing Jaehyun half-naked, is suddenly getting flashbacks to that one time Ten walked on them before his party and asked if they were done eye-fucking each other.

Doyoung has never eye-fucked anyone and will not do it, ever, thank you very much. He’s about to head for his bag to get fresh clothes, when Jaehyun suddenly grabs his wrist. Doyoung gasps as he’s gently but firmly shoved against a wall, and he gulps down nervously. Jaehyun is towering above him, clearly taking advantage of his height, and Doyoung doesn’t like this very much. The smirk that blooms on Jaehyun’s face is worse, and Doyoung clicks his tongue.

“What?” he says, and he blushes against his will because they’re way too close and not very dressed.

“Nothing,” Jaehyun says, and Doyoung is about to protest loudly because who shoves people against a wall for nothing, but Jaehyun adds “actually, yes, there is something. Have I ever told you that I think you’re very cute?”

Doyoung’s brain needs a few seconds to compute what Jaehyun just said, and he gets two shades redder. Jaehyun mustn't be in his normal state of mind.

On Jaehyun’s side, although he acknowledges that his behavior is a little over the top, he’s having the time of his life seeing Doyoung lose control over his emotions. He goes a step further as he cups Doyoung’s face with one hand, and kisses his forehead. Doyoung makes a distressed noise, and Jaehyun decides that this is enough for today. After all, they have the friendly match in two days and it’d be bad not having Doyoung just because Jaehyun flirted too much with him.

Jaehyun releases him, still smiling to himself because he made Doyoung so embarrassed. He turns around, and Doyoung snaps back to reality.

“Hey, what was that-”

Doyoung slips on the wet floor, and he braces himself for a very hurtful collision which never happens because Jaehyun catches him and brings him against his chest.

“Woah, be careful dude!”

Doyoung freezes once more because he’s pressed against Jaehyun’s warm chest and it’s way too comfortable considering he’s pretty muscled and it shouldn’t feel _this soft_. Moreover, Jaehyun has an arm around his waist to keep him into place, meaning Doyoung is really squished as much as it is physically possible to be close to someone against Jaehyun’s torso. Welp.

Jaehyun slowly untangles himself from Doyoung, and checks him out from head to toe.

“Are you okay?”

Doyoung can’t bring himself to speak, so he merely nods, still a little dazed. Jaehyun coos inwardly about how adorable he looks, and nods to himself.

“Good. Get changed so we can go home.”

* * *

The day of the friendly match finally arrives, and everyone in the team is hyped. Kun decided on a line up composed of himself, Lucas, Jungwoo, Jisung and Jaehyun, and all of them are in great shape.

It’s not their first match with the other university, because both campuses are close and by now everyone on both teams became friends. Both captains, Kun and Youngmin, are shaking hands right now, and Doyoung can’t stay still. Kun told him he might enter to replace Jaehyun if the latter ever got too tired to play, but Doyoung knows Jaehyun has crazy stamina and that it’d take more than that to make him leave the court. After all, he is pretty much the same as his friend and rival.

So he’s bound to stay on the bench for now, all jittery. Haechan elbows him, tired of feeling him move around, and Johnny ruffles his hair before telling him to calm down. But Doyoung is frustrated, he wants to play and not just watch.

The first half goes well, but it ends with the other school leading, so Kun is obviously stressed. The rest of the team, especially those who have been playing, tell him that it’ll be okay. Youngmin’s team doesn’t have that much of a lead on them, only 5 points. Kun takes deep breaths, and as they’re taking their break, reviews the strategy for the next half.

Before the match can start again, there are some cheers coming from above, and the basketball team sees their friends sitting in the bleachers. Taeyong and Yuta somehow brought banners, even though it’s just a friendly match, and Ten is visibly ready to lead the cheers. Taeil waves at Kun, mouthing “you can do it”, because he’s not about to scream that. The basketball club cheers back, and Jaehyun and Jisung make fun of Kun for blushing at his boyfriend’s encouragements.

But in the middle of the third quarter, it happens.

Jaehyun jumps to shoot the ball, and Youngmin jumps to stop him. They don’t even touch, but the moment he goes down from his jump, Jaehyun can tell he’s about to land wrongly. He braces himself as he falls on his ass, but not before his ankle twists painfully. He swears, and Youngmin immediately drops to his knees near him.

“Jaehyun, are you okay?” he asks, worried.

“I landed wrongly,” Jaehyun answers through gritted teeth.

He doesn’t know if it’s just the kind of pain that can go away in a few minutes because it’s minor, or if he’ll have to be replaced for the rest of the match. Youngmin looks at his ankle, and Kun also runs to them.

“What’s wrong?” Kun asks, frowning, “are you hurt?”

“I twisted my ankle,” Jaehyun says, frowning too.

He tries to move it, but immediately stops. The pain is really awful. Kun and Youngmin notice it, and they help him up. Lucas actually switches with Kun to help Jaehyun walk to their bench, so that Kun can ask the referee to stop the match while they replace Jaehyun. Jaehyun sits very carefully next to Haechan, and Yangyang and Xiaojun return from the nursery with ice and bandages.

“Doyoung, you’re going in,” Kun says, and Doyoung nods.

He changes quickly, and can’t help but squeeze Jaehyun’s hand. Jaehyun looks in so much pain Doyoung’s heart is hurting, and he wishes he could stay with him to help him feel better.

“What are you looking at?” Jaehyun jokes, forcing a smile, “go win that match for me, will you?”

Doyoung rolls his eyes at Jaehyun’s attitude, but brings him into a brief hug nevertheless before entering the court. Youngmin asks him if Jaehyun will be okay, and Doyoung assures him that yes, he will. The elder looks relieved, and nods.

The match starts again, and Jaehyun watches with frustration as the game goes on without him. But he’s not about to risk hurting himself more than he already did – because of a bad landing to boot, which is all the more frustrating. So he just stays on the bench and cheers for his members while being careful not to move too much.

The match soon comes to an end, and it’s Doyoung who shoots the final basket, a perfect three pointer. Lucas and Jungwoo scream at the same time, both so high the members of the other team cover their ears, and Kun runs to Doyoung to hug him. Jisung is also jumping around, and they do a group hug on the court.

They thank the other team for coming, and soon, the conversations break into friendly chatter. The players start taking turns showering, and Doyoung runs to Jaehyun after washing up.

Jaehyun didn’t move from his bench, and is still surrounded by Yangyang and Xiaojun. Doyoung assures them he’ll take care of Jaehyun and that they’ll meet them a little bit later. Both teams usually grab food after their matches, and this time will be no exception. That said, Doyoung would feel a lot more relieved if the nurse could check on Jaehyun.

The duo goes to the nursery, and soon, Jaehyun is sitting on a bed as the nurse is checking on his ankle. It’s nothing too bad, and the pain should go away soon, but she recommends that he doesn’t force on his left foot too much, as it’s still sensitive. She tells him he can rest on one of the nursery’s bed for now, and he accepts. Doyoung helps him, and sits on the bed, too.

“Congratulations for winning the match,” Jaehyun smiles, “that last shot was really cool! Plus, I guess you can be the ace again given I’ll be out for a whi-”

Jaehyun doesn’t have the time to finish his sentence that Doyoung circled his shoulders and pressed his lips against his in a deep kiss. Jaehyun flushes pink as Doyoung pushes his tongue in his mouth, but he closes his eyes and answers the kiss, bringing Doyoung closer.

They kiss for a while, until Doyoung breaks away, panting and very red in the face.

“What was that?” Jaehyun teases him, wiping the saliva on his chin, “do you have something you’d like to tell me?”

“Nothing,” Doyoung answers, which makes Jaehyun quirk a curious eyebrow at him, “or, actually, yes. You’re pretty cute, you know that?”

Jaehyun stares at Doyoung in amazement, and understanding the reference, bursts in laughter. Doyoung can’t help but join him, and they’re soon laughing until their stomachs hurt.

“I like you,” Jaehyun eventually says once they’re both trying to catch their breath, “would you like to be my boyfriend?”

Doyoung leans on him, and fakes thinking about it.

“Hm, what’s in for me?”

Jaehyun pecks his forehead, and starts enumerating as he counts on his right hand.

“First, you get to date this gorgeous man,” he says, making Doyoung snort, “then you also get free snacks and good food because I’m an amazing cook. You’ll get quality hugs and kisses, too, and more if you know what I mean,” he finishes, wiggling his eyebrows.

Doyoung laughs again, and he hugs Jaehyun’s waist before resting his head on his shoulder.

“Okay, sounds good enough. I’m in.”

Jaehyun kisses his forehead once more, and they remain hugging.

It’s good enough for now.

**Author's Note:**

> The alternate name of this piece is "This Is Not A Kuroko's Basketball AU" despite the basket and the gays being present. See you soon!
> 
> [Twitter](https://twitter.com/dojaefairy)


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